Even when We're apart, We're Together
by PunkxRockxPurplex
Summary: Uchiha Sasuke: test subject for Orochimaru's curse mark. Hyuga Hinata: subject of direct experimentation of Orochimaru's scientific catastrophies. Uzumaki Naruto: Jailer of Kyuubi no Kitsune. All three have one thing in common: they were alone.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Hi everyone! This is my first fanfic, and it's Naruhina, with some side Sasusaku. Please don't flame, but please review and favorite and whatever else! This is gonna be multi-chapter. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape or form. If I did, it would probably suck butt._

_~X~_

_The young, raven-haired onyx-eyed Uchiha heir kneeled in pain, clutching his neck and screaming in agony. Someone hidden in the shadows laughing sinisterly, his yellow, snake-like eyes the only thing showing through the darkness. _

"_I'll…asked again…What have you done to my sister?!" Sasuke asked with all of the strength he could muster at the moment. "I haven't done anything to her, Sasuke-kun. But Kabuto is going to run a couple of…tests…that will prove if she is worth something, even though her clan says different." the man hissed._

_Sasuke let out another cry, clawing at his neck to make the pain go away. "Make it stop, Orochimaru! Make it stop!" he exclaimed, falling to the ground, still holding his neck. "Now, now, Sasuke-kun, hasn't anyone ever told you? Human kind cannot gain anything without giving something in return. This time, you giving me your body to use as a vessel. Don't worry, the pain will subside once you fall unconscious."_

_The eight year old panted as he glared up at his captor with hate-filled eyes that he normally reserved for his brother. "Damn you Orochimaru! What kind of Hell-spawn are you?!" he spat. "Sticks and stones, Sasuke-kun. Save your strength. You'll need it to save your beloved little sister." Orochimaru laughed, Body flickering out of existence and leaving the poor damned Uchiha to writhe around in pain. _

_Finally, Sasuke fell asleep, not able to take the pain anymore. Terrifying images danced across the dream plane, mocking him as the small boy cried out in his sleep. He watched his family get murdered by Itachi, his once beloved older brother. He sat on the dock behind the Uchiha complex, sobbing at what he had witnessed._

"_Are you okay?" he whipped his head around to find a small girl in a kimono-like top and blue cargo ninja pants. Her hair was cropped short and framed her pale, heart-shaped face. He looked down, his tears causing ripples in the pond below his feet. He felt the girl put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm Hyuga Hinata. I heard what happened the your clan." she said. "Hyuga?" he asked. She nodded, pulling her hand back._

"_Our clans are related." he said quietly. "Unfortunately, my clan disowned me, I'm technically not a Hyuga anymore." she said, sadly. "Well, then you can be an Uchiha. You can be my sister. Kami-sama knows we both need someone to be there for us." he said, smiling faintly. A smile graced her lips. "Can I really?" she asked. He nodded._

_The scene changed. He was in a small chamber, with chains hung on the wall. He looked around. "Hinata-chan?" he asked. "Sasuke-nii-san! Help!" he whipped his head around to find Hinata wiggling around in Orochimaru's arms. "Let her go, you snake bastard!" he cried, running towards him. Suddenly, the chains lashed out and wrapped themselves around Sasuke's wrists, pulling him against the wall and forcing him to stay there, no matter how hard he struggled. _

_Hinata cried out, reaching for her surrogate brother. "Sasuke-nii-san!" she exclaimed. "Hinata-chan!" he pushed against the hold of the strains, so hard the they cut into his arms, drawing blood. He gave up, too weak to continue. Impulsively, a familiar sinister laugh broke the silence of the dungeon. Sasuke looked up and saw Orochimaru holding something. What he was holding angered and terrified him._

_Hinata's dead corpse hung limply in his grasp._

_Sasuke woke with a start, crying out and flinging himself up off of the ground. "It's about time you woke up, kid." he looked up and scrambled away from the person. "Come on, we need to get your sister before he does anything…deadly to her like he did to the other experiments." Sasuke narrowed his eyes and hopped up as fast as he could. "My sister is not an experiment!" he yelled. "Calm down, and if we don't get to her in time, she will be." without warning, he was scooped up and his rescuer starting running amazingly fast down the dimly lit hallway._

_Meanwhile, a frightened Hyuga Hinata lay strapped to an examination table, hands and feet bound with metal strips to prevent her from escaping. A boy with silver hair and glasses that glinted in the bright light of the room stood over her, grinned malevolently as he held a syringe filled with an odd purple-blue liquid. Her eyes dilated with fear as he came closer with the medical tool. She yelped in pain as the needle pierced her skin, the liquid flowing into her blood stream. The pain started to become overwhelming and she squirmed as much as she could. "Good idea, maybe it will spread faster. Then the pain will subside quicker." her said in all honestly. She felt her heart rate pick up, and tried to kick her legs, but the restraints did their jobs well._

_Finally the pain subsided, leaving the young disowned Hyuga panted ad still straining against the metal that bound her to the table. "I'm impressed, most people would be passed out by now, for you to still be awake, and still sane, is quite surprising." Kabuto said. Hinata, turning her head slightly, used her Hyuga genes and gave him the coldest glare she could. _

"_Now, let's look at the results." he said, turning to a small computer screen. "Yes, you're perfect, Orochimaru-sama will definitely have a use for you." he said, smiling sinisterly. "Let me go!" she cried. "Now, now, don't be as much of a pain as your brother was." Orochimaru materialized into existence. "What did you do to my brother?!" she asked. "Nothing that isn't going to happen to you." he grinned._

_Without warning, his neck shot out. Sharp fangs bit into her neck. "What are you? Some sort of vampire?!" she had picked up sarcasm from Sasuke in the short time they had known each other. He removed hi fangs and grinned. More pain coursed through her. She screamed, trying to break out of the restraints, this time with more vigor and desperation._

_She managed to stay conscious through this, glaring at Orochimaru as he grinned in pleasure. She spat at his feet. "You dirty little snake! Go rot in hell!" she said, but it didn't sound right with her soft voice. "Hmm…I think Sasuke's cursing is just a bit better, don't you think, Kabuto?" he asked. "Yes, Orochimaru-sama, but hanging around him enough, she be able to curse well in time." he said._

"_Orochimaru!" every head in the room turned to find Sasuke standing in the doorway. "What?! But how--?" he stuttered. "It's time to end this, Orochimaru!" someone stepped up behind Sasuke. Orochimaru's expression of shock turned to one of disapproving anger. "Anko, I should've known you were behind this." he hissed. "Who else would know where you've been experimenting on innocent children? Which one was it this time, __sensei_?" she said the word like one would say "vomit". Like one would say "zit". Like one would say "ingrown toenail".

"It's the most recent one, Anko, the one I used on you. You should know all about it from your research." Anko let a growl escape her throat. "Combined her natural flexibility and body-structure, this young kunoichi-in-training will be the best yet. Even better than you, Anko." he sneered. "You sick little bastard…" she said, closing her eyes. "How do you sleep at night, knowing your corrupting these young kids, not even out of the Academy yet?!" she screamed. "Simple. I know that, the earlier I inject the fluid into their blood streams, the more loyal they will be to me once they're shinobi." he said. "Like you assumed with me?!" Anko was enraged.

Orochimaru shrugged. "You were a fluke. Now if you'll excuse me, I have more tests to run." he said nonchalantly. Sasuke growled and launched himself forward, kunai knife in hand. "You snake bastard! Let my sister go or I'll rip you to shreds!" he cried. Orochimaru merely sidestepped the attack and Sasuke went crashing into a shelf of odd liquids. A few went flying and broke onto the restraints that bound Hinata. It was then she got an idea. 

She gathered a bunch of chakra to her ankles and wrists. She held it there long enough to build tension, and then released it from the tenketsu in those specific areas. The metal parted and she was free. Without Orochimaru noticing she hopped off of the table and walked up to Anko. "Can we leave now? Mr. Michael Jackson over there scares me." she jabbed a thumb at Orochimaru and Anko barked out a laugh. "Sure, kid. Brat! Come on, let's go!" she scooped both kids in her arms and bolted out of the room.

"Miss, Kabuto is right behind us." Hinata reported. "Huh? How can you--oh, I see." Anko said, getting a look at Hinata's Byakugan, having activated. "That could come in handy. Can you keep that activated?" she asked. "Until my chakra gets low. That liquid they injected into me seemed to give my chakra a boost, so I'd say I'm good for at least an hour." she said. "Sweet. In that case…"

Anko suddenly body flickered. The two children looked around the surroundings and realized they were in the Konohagakure forest. "Welcome home, brats." she said, setting them down. Hinata looked around. "We've lost Kabuto. My vision range is about 10 miles, so he's nowhere within that distance." Hinata reported. "Good." Anko wiped some sweat off of her brow. "Honestly, I'm a little disappointed. Orochimaru's right hand man, tricked by a simply technique like Shunshin?" Sasuke asked. "Yeah, I have to agree with you there. Come on, lets get you two home." she said.

Both of them suddenly looked extremely uncomfortable. "What?" she asked. "My clan was murdered a couple of weeks ago." Sasuke said. "My father disowned me because he thought I was too weak to be his daughter and the Hyuga clan heiress." Hinata admitted, poking her fingers together. Anko looked between the two of them with a sympathetic gaze. "So then, where have you two been living?" she asked. "In the abandoned Uchiha complex." Sasuke answered. "Isn't that kind of traumatizing?" she asked. "It's either that or the orphanage for both of us." Hinata's answered.

Anko was silent. "Does the Hokage know about this?" she asked. Both of them shook their heads no. She was about to say something when a cry broke through her the dense trees. "Come on." she said. The two did their best to keep up, until suddenly Anko skidded to a stop, anger evident on her face. "Oi! What do you think you're doing?" she asked, stomping up to some shinobi. "Avenging those lost the night of the Kyuubi." one said, holding a kunai right above a small boys head. "You ought to be ashamed of yourselves! He's just a kid!" she said. 

While Anko was beating p the poor damned shinobi, Hinata and Sasuke moved the boy from the fight scene and leaned him up against a tree. "Dude, are you alright?" Sasuke asked. The boy didn't answer, just looked in fear at the two people in front of him. "Does it look like he's alright?" Hinata asked, digging in the pockets of her hoodie. Finally, she pulled out a tub of some cream. "This is going to sting a little." she warned. Finally, he spoke. "Nothing worse than what I go through every day."

Sasuke frowned, bit lifted up the boys shirt so Hinata could finish healing his wounds with her minor medical ointment. What they say made both of them gasp in shock. You could count his ribs, and you could see that a few were broken. He was extremely, disturbingly, underweight, and he looked about to pass out front exhaustion and blood loss. "Hinata, hurry up with the treatment." Sasuke said, worried for the boy. "I'm going as fast as I can." the girl retorted.

"The poor boy…" Anko said from behind. It was only when Hinata had finished rubbing the ointment onto the boy's injuries did she turn around. "That's Uzumaki Naruto. He's been an orphan since he was born and everyone in the village hates him. They see him as a reminder or the Kyuubi." she said, crouching down. "How come?" Sasuke asked. "His birthday is October 10." she said. The two just glanced back at him. He had managed to move himself so that he was leaning forward with his arms draped around his knees. "Why aren't you beating me up yet?" he asked, not making eye contact. He suddenly felt himself being lifted out of his sitting position and was being supported by Sasuke and Hinata. "Because I just healed you, why would I want to force my efforts to be in vain?" she asked as they followed Anko back into the village.

He left out a small laugh. "I guess you're right. "What are you guys' names?" he asked. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke responded. "And I'm, or was, Hyuga Hinata." Hinata replied. "Was?" Naruto asked. Hinata focused on not tripping over a particularly large tree root. "My family disowned me about a month ago." she finally said.

"Alright, brats, you need to wait here. I need to talk to the Hokage. Don't you dare go father into that forest!" Anko said, pointing to the unused training ground she had dropped them off at. All of them nodded and she Shunshined away. A few minutes later, Naruto started looking into the forest ever few minutes. It was clear he was itching with curiosity. Sasuke and Hinata, too, were curious, but also, because of their clans, were obedient by nature, and knew not to disobey a superior. Naruto, however, didn't know this.

"Screw what she said, I'm going in there!" he said, starting to climb the fence. "Naruto! She said not to go in!" Sasuke said. "Too bad, people have told me to stay out of places before, and I never listened to them!" he said, flinging his leg over the fence. "But it could be dangerous!" Hinata said. "So? I deal with danger every day! If I'm gonna be a Hokage one day, I need to learn how to be brave!" he said from the over side of the fence.

"A Hokage knows when not to put himself in unnecessary danger, you dobe!" Sasuke said. Naruto just stuck his tongue out at the two of them and disappeared into the dense trees. "Damnit, that idiot is gonna get us all killed." Sasuke said, starting to climb over the fence. "What are you doing?" Hinata asked. "Going to get him before Anko comes back. Come on!" he said. "Have you lost it?!" she asked. He looked hurt at her accusation. "That's not the way you climb a fence, you dolt! You gotta put some leg strength into it." she said, pushing herself over the fence. 

Soon, both were over the fence and into the overgrown training ground. "I thought you were gonna chicken out on me." he said as they started running. "Nope. When I was still a Hyuga I had to be all prim and proper in girly. I feels good to give in to my tomboy nature." she said. Sasuke just gave her a look and the started calling out to Naruto. "Naruto-baka, where did you go?" he called. "When we find you, Anko is gonna be so pissed at you!" Hinata shouted. They heard his laughter somewhere up ahead. "Try and find me, guys!" he called. "That idiot's making a game out of disobeying the rules!" Sasuke exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

"Well, then, let's play along."

Sasuke looked at Hinata with a confused expression on his face. "Let's play a little game of Hide-and-Go-Seek-out-the-dobe." she grinned, activating her bloodline. "Isn't that cheating?" Sasuke asked. "A ninja knows how to use the surrounding and other materials to his or her advantage. I'm simply playing ninja." she responded. 

A few minutes later, her grin widened. "Target sighted." she ran off, Sasuke on her heels. Ducking under braches and jumping over logs with equal grace, they soon found Naruto sitting in a tree, swinging his legs. "Hey, you cheated!" he said, pointing at Hinata's Byakugan. "I was playing ninja. Do you know how much trouble were going to be in if Anko finds out we went in here when she specifically told us not to?" Hinata asked. Naruto just shrugged. "I've gotten in worse trouble." he said. "Just get down from there." Sasuke commanded. "I can't."

"What do you mean, you can't?"

"I'm stuck."

"How'd you managed to get yourself stuck?" Hinata asked. "Well, I don't quite remember how I got up here." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Sasuke did a face-fall and Hinata sweat dropped. "Alright, just follow my instructions, and I'll guide you down." she said. She analyzed the tree. "See that branch diagonally from you? Get on it." he said. He did so. "Now lower yourself to the branch below it…" he did so, and then did something completely idiotic.

He jumped.

"Naruto!" she cried out, worried for him. But he landed on his feet and walked up to Hinata, grinning stupidly. "How about that? Pretty impressive, huh?" he was responded to with a slap to the cheek. "You idiot! You could've killed yourself!" she yelled. "But I didn't! Besides, wasn't that cool?!" he asked. "It was stupid!"

While the two of them argued, Sasuke felt an scary presence, one that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He looked around, trying to tune out the arguing. "Hinata, do you feel that?" he asked. Hinata stopped mid-sentence, ignoring the questions Naruto was asking. "Yeah, I feel it." she responded, turning around to face her brother.

"I don't feel anything! What are you talking about?" Naruto asked. A threatening hiss sounded through the air, silencing anything that Naruto would've said next. "That." both of the dark haired children said.

A sudden crack reached their ears a something as frightening as seeing Gai-sensei with the Byakugan activated appeared, tearing trees down to the ground in it's wake. Before the children stood a hundred-foot snake! 

Before they could even scream, the snake eyed them hungrily. "_Oh, looky here, a sssnack._" it hissed. "It talks?!" Naruto screamed. "_Yesss, you idiotic human!_" it looked angrily at Naruto. "_Jussst for that comment, I believe I will eat you first!_" It opened it's jaw and lunged at Naruto.

Mere inches from Naruto's face, the snake stopped suddenly and let out a hiss of pain. He looked to the side to see Hinata in a fighting position, her right palm extended, giving her away as the one that attacked him. "_You shouldn't have done that, child._" it spat at her. "I should've if I wanted to save my friend." she said. 

"_A very brave human. Or a very foolish one. Either way, it'sss very admirable of you. What about you, quiet one? Am I ever going to hear anything from you?_" the snake asked, turning to Sasuke. "I was told to respect Elders, especially ones that could kill me with one bite, so I've decided to shut up." he responded. "_A sssmart one. Also admirable. I have decided. I--_"

"Am going to let us go with a warning to never come in her without permission again?" Naruto interrupted. "_Not a chance. As I was sssaying I have decided to eat all of you in one, you ssseem sssmall enough to fit._" he said.

"You won't touch them, Hebi!" all of them turned around to see a very pissed off Anko; whether she was mad at them or at the snake, no one could tell. "_Anko-sama! I'm sorry, are these children you're supper?_" the snake asked. "No one likes a smart ass, Hebi. Go home, _now_!" the snake hung his head and slithered off. All three of the children turned around with guilty faces.

"What the hell did I tell you brats before I left? Not to go into the training ground! And you deliberately disobeyed me!" she seemed generally concerned for their safety. "But it was Naruto's fault!" Sasuke said. Naruto glared at him. "Well it was! If you hadn't gone in there first, we wouldn't have had to chase you in here!" Sasuke said.

"Naruto, why did you go into the training ground when I specifically told you otherwise?" she asked. Naruto pouted, not looking at Anko or at anyone, just becoming suddenly interested in an earthworm slithering across the earth. 

"I'm waiting." Anko was fully aware of how she sounded like a mother.

"No one would've if I died anyway." he said quietly. He bowed his head, still not looking at anyone. He started to shake. "It's all because of the damn Kyuubi sealed inside of me!" he finally looked up, tears streaming down his face. 

Anko walked up to him, bending down to his eye-level. "Listen to me, Naruto." he looked up at her, still sobbing uncontrollably. "Are you listening? Cuz' I'm only gonna say this once." he nodded. "You have people who care about you. Iruka, Sandaime-sama…me." she said. "But none of you are my parents, are you?" he said, wiping his eyes and sniffing. "No, none of us are." she said, sending him into another crying fit. "But, wherever and whoever your parents are, I'm sure they love you very much, and are watching you right now." she said. His face screwed up even more and he launched himself onto Anko. She was surprised at first, but she wrapped her arms around him and drew him close.

She heard more sniffling and sobbing coming from the other two kids. She looked over and saw tears streaming down Hinata's face and Sasuke trying to inconspicuously wiped his eyes. "Do you two miss your parents?" she asked in a motherly tone she didn't even know she could use. The both nodded and she spread her arm open to allow them room in the hug. The both let out sobs and ran to Anko. She hugged all three of them close.

Loud sniffles could be heard from above. Anko raised her eyes to see Hebi the snake looking at them. "_I'm sss-sssory, Anko-sssama, it'sss a beautiful moment!"_ he said. "Will you get out of here?!" she yelled at the snake, who slithered away, still sniffling.

**The first chapter of Even if We're Apart, We're Together! Did you like it? Did you hate it? Will you review? You will if you want more chapters. I realize Hinata is OC, and Sasuke isn't an emo bent on revenge. Naruto has a breakdown, and so do Hinata and Sasuke. I had to add the snake in there at the end, it was too funny to pass up.**

**Ja nae!**


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: I'm back! I know it took forever, I'm such a procrastinator! I'm sorry! I've tried to keep working on it, but I keep loosing my train of thought. I've been trying to decide who to pair Sasuke with, because I really don't like Sakura or Ino in the first part of the series. I've decided that now, but it took forever, and I had to keep editing parts of the chapter. An early idea was SasuTema, but that freaked me out after a while, so I nixed it. That and I've been taking some time to work on my poetry. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, I wouldn't be here._

_Anko led the three little children, eyes still red and puffy from crying and cheeks still stained with tears. They were amazed at Anko's house; the tower in the middle of the Forest of Death. They were stunned into silence as she pushed them inside._

_All of the rooms were rather circular, as one can imagine with it being a tower. In the first room they entered, it had a viewing platform that looked over a fighting ring. There was a staircase that led up to the second floor, where the living room was. The room had a large couch, one armchair, and a flat-screen T.V. Hooked up to that T.V. was a Playstation 2 and a Wii. _

_The next room was a small kitchen. The counter was littered with used dango sticks and paper plates. There was a small table that had four chairs, but it seemed crowded. It had everything a kitchen needed; a stove, a microwave, a refrigerator, a toaster, a coffee pot (that is a necessity, believe me!) and a sink and dishwasher._

_After the kitchen came the second to last floor. There were two unused rooms. Both were undecorated and unfurnished. "This next room is mine. I advise you not to go in it." she said. "Why?" Sasuke asked. "Cuz' it's mine, isn't that enough reason?" Anko chuckled darkly, seemingly scaring the last Uchiha. She opened the door. There was an unmade mattress on the floor in the middle-back of the room, and the floor was littered with scrolls and books. The walls were painted a light tan color, and the floor was hardwood._

_Quickly, the door was shut before anything else could be seen. "Go downstairs to the fighting ring, I'll meet you there in a moment." she commanded. All of them followed, obediently, this time. They descended the stairs that led from the viewing platform and Naruto plopped himself on the stone floor of the ring. "I wonder what she's gonna do to us." Naruto said. "Maybe she'll feed us to a snake for trespassing in the forest." Sasuke said. _

"_Or she's going through a transformation and is turning into a she-devil!"_

"_Guys…"_

"_Maybe she's gonna slice us in half and use us as fuel!"_

"_Guys?!"_

"_Possibly--"_

"_GUYS!!"_

_Both guys looked at Hinata, who had her Byakugan activated. "She's just getting some scrolls, stop letting your imaginations getting to you." she said, deactivating her bloodline. Both boys flushed, embarrassed that they just got out-cooled by a girl, even if she was a Hyuga._

_They heard footsteps and Anko was descending the stairs. She did a back flip over the railing of the viewing platform and landed on her feet in the ring in front of them. "Alright, brats, listen up." she immediately had their attention. She sat on the ground in front of them. "This is gonna seem sudden, but…I'm adopting all three of you." she earned three gasped from her audience. _

_Figuring they weren't going to say anything, she continued. "Sasuke, Hinata…those curse marks that Orochimaru gave you make you two a lot like me, especially you, Hinata. He gave you a certain kind of curse mark, the same one that he gave me. Naruto, I don't know much about demons, but I know what it's like to be ridiculed and mocked and beat up. Orochimaru was my sensei for a while, and when I came back to Konoha, everyone except Sandaime-sama hated me, mocked me, beat me up." she was quiet for a moment, her face darkened as she remembered what it was like._

_But her face brightened when she looked up. "Okay, I told you about me, tell me about you. Naruto, you first." she pointed to the blond Jinchurikki. "My favorite color is orange, I like ramen, especially miso flavor, although pork flavor is good too…and so if beef…" Anko cleared her throat and he came back to earth. "I wanna be the Hokage when I get older, to protect my precious ones!" he said, pumping his fist in the air._

"_Sasuke, you next." Anko motioned to Sasuke. "My favorite color is dark blue, and I like training. I want to restore the Uchiha clan and kill my older brother and that snake bastard Orochimaru." he said. "I'm right with you on that one. Hinata?" _

_Hinata smiled brightly, an impressive feat for someone who just got disowned by her family. "My favorite color is lavender. My favorite flower is lilac. I enjoy making medical ointments and homemade perfumes (mine smell a lot better than that overpowering crap that my classmates Ino and Sakura wear). I want to prove myself to my father that I am worth something. I don't care what my elder council thinks, they can rot in hell anyways. I want to be the Hyuga clan leader." she said. Anko smiled admiringly at her female charge. _

_Suddenly, she tossed a scroll to each boy. "Go to the living room and read those over." she commanded. They boys responded with a curt "Hai!" before racing each other to the living room. "What about me?" Hinata asked. "You, girly, are gonna get special training from me." Anko said, getting up. "Why?" Hinata asked, standing up as well. "I told you earlier, you and I have the same curse mark. Therefore, I need to train you in how to control it." she explained. "But what does it do?" Hinata was getting impatient. "That will come later, now show my what you got!"_

"_But I'm eight!"_

"_Good kunoichi don't make excuses!"_

_And so Hinata's training began…_

_Time skip!_

_4 years later_

"_Come on, Hinata, pick up the pace!" Anko shouted. The determined 12 year old girl in front of her hit the training dummy relentlessly. Anko circled her pupil, nodding approvingly at the look of fierce determination in her pale lavender pupil-less eyes._

_Hinata had started to grow up. Much to Anko's pleasure and relief, she grew up a natural tomboy. Training was a lot easier when the girl didn't have to worry about breaking a nail or getting dirty. In fact, Hinata preferred it when she got dirty, it proved she was working harder._

_Under Anko's guidance, all three of them had graduated the Academy at the age of 10. From special permission from the Hokage, they were not put on teams yet. Naruto and Sasuke were both thirteen already, it was a mere two weeks until Hinata's birthday. Hinata had never made a big deal of her birthday, but always made a big deal of her aniki and aneue (big brothers and older sister)._

_A loud crack broke through the fighting ring, along with Hinata's final yell of "Hyah!" Anko smiled at her younger sister. "Good job, Hinata! Go get the boys, and we'll compare." Hinata nodded and sprinted up the stairs, still on her adrenaline rush from training. She finally skidded to a stop in the living room, catching her breath. Then she walked calmly up the stairs and to her brothers' room. "Naru! Sasu! Come on, we're doing joint training!" she pounded on the door. "Oh, I hate joint training!" both of them complained. "Quit your bitching!" she slammed the door open and glared at her lazy brothers. Despite the fact it was noon, both boys were still in bed, wearing pajamas. "Get up." she commanded. "Make us!" Naruto said. She raised her eyebrows, amused, before walking over to him and pulling the covers out from under him, making him fall flat on his face._

"_I made you, get your ass up before I kick it all the way down to the ring." she said. "God, Hinata-chan, you're mean sometimes." Sasuke said, flipping the covers off. "I'm a kunoichi, I need to be. Anko-neechan's gonna be pissed if you're not down there soon." she said, walking out of the room. Both boys shared a look, shrugged, and got up, changing from pajamas to training clothing. _

_Hinata was back in the ring, practicing some of her newer moves. She had re-done the Hyuga style, to make it fit her better, instead of doing it straight from the scrolls. Instead of closing off the tenketsu, she would use her chakra to slowly but gradually paralyze her opponents limbs. As her finishing move, she would deliver a harsh blow to the solar plexus, only enough to knock her enemy unconscious if she was in a sparring match._

_The boys came down wearing their training attire. Naruto was wearing a black T-shirt with black pants and orange cuffs. He had an orange jacket tied around his waist. Sasuke was wearing black baggy pants and a dark blue T-shirt that didn't quite cover his stomach. Underneath that, however, was a net shirt. Sasuke liked to show off, even when he was training privately._

"_Alright, sparring time. No ninjutsu or genjutsu, strictly Taijutsu. Naruto and Sasuke, you go first, Hinata, you fight the winner." Anko said. "Anko-neechan, wouldn't it be better if we didn't destroy the fighting area?" Hinata asked. "Destruction is good sometimes. Besides, I enjoy watching them trying to kill each other." Anko sat down next to Hinata. She sighed. "Being a kunoichi, I guess I'm going to have to get used to destruction. Good thing you forbid ninjutsu, or Sasuke would've made flambé out of Naruto by now." she replied. "We would've been having roast fishcake for dinner." Anko laughed,_

_Hinata decided to do her own evaluation of her brother's skills. Most likely, they were going to be on a team together once she turned thirteen. She wanted a decent analyses of their skills, which she hadn't watched in a while. Silently activating her Byakugan, she looked at their chakra coils and internal organs. Both for each were in good shape, but there was something more…powerful about Naruto's chakra. No, not just his chakra, about his physical stamina and muscle strength and endurance. Something that neither she nor Sasuke could achieve naturally._

_That's the power of the Kyuubi working it's progress on Naruto-nii-san._

Sasuke's chakra was influenced by the curse mark, but it acted differently from her own. With each punch or kick he unleashed, chakra was built up in that limb, giving him a stronger impact. When he was dodging, the chakra would flow quickly back to the center of his body, giving him a better center of gravity and making him move quicker and more agile than most.

_The curse mark has it's advantages, but I still hate that snake bastard. The physical pain he put us through…and the mental wounds he inflicted on Sasuke…_

Hinata concentrated on the fight. Naruto threw a punch at Sasuke's stomach, and Sasuke dodged as quickly as Hinata expected. But Naruto caught him quickly with a leg sweep that knocked him down. He didn't even touch the ground before he planted his palm of the stone floor of the ring and did a back hand spring, landing firmly on his feet and launching into a series of punches and kicks, stunning Naruto momentarily. Sasuke went in for the final move, but Naruto was back to his senses and parried with a snap kick to the gut, accidentally using more power than necessary and sending poor Sasuke flying into the wall, and leaving a human shaped dent in the stone.

"Naruto wins…barely." Anko announced. Sasuke pulled himself out of the dent in the wall and tried to stand, only falling down seconds later from his legs turning to Jell-O. Naruto soon too fell to the ground. Hinata shook her head and pulled out the healing ointment. "Take off your shirts." she said. The boys complied and sat with their backs facing her. They flinched with the medicine touched their skin. "Hot damn! Isn't this stuff supposed to heal us?" Naruto asked. "Don't be such a baby, haven't you ever heard the saying 'Thing's get worse before they get better'?" Hinata asked, rubbing the mint-green ointment into Naruto's skin. "Still, the stuff stings like Hell." Sasuke said, flinching.

"No, stinging like Hell would be when I throw you into a fire for being such a whiney little bitch! Shut up or I'm not gonna heal you!" she said, pinching a nerve on Sasuke's arm. He yelped and shut up, he and Naruto sharing a glance. The same thought passed through both or their heads.

_What happened to the sweet little baby sister we knew and loved?_

Finally, Hinata was done healing the minor wounds and she and Naruto stood up, getting ready to face each other. "Begin!" Anko shouted. As usual, Naruto was first to attack. Hinata simply dodged and kneed him in the center of his back, sending him forward. He managed to stop himself and came charging right back, shuriken in his hands. He launched them at her, attempting to pin her to the wall and end the match quickly. He had a smirk on his face until he heard the clink of metal against metal and saw that she had successfully deflected each projectile with a kunai. Her pale face was now adorned with a smirk.

"Tch. Child's play." she said, dodging a punch aimed at her abdomen. "Are you sure you and Sasuke aren't twins?" Naruto asked, jumping over a leg sweep. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure." the second he landed, he was met with an elbow to the gut, sending him back a few feet. As soon as he was within reaching distance, Hinata slung her arm around his neck and spun around his back to his other side. "Come on, now, Naru, where's your dignity? You wouldn't really hurt a girl, would you?" she asked. "Uh…" she smirked at him. "Really, how can you call yourself a man?" she placed a hand on her hip, speaking slower than she usually would. Sasuke was watching intently with interest and Anko had whipped out a video camera.

"Well…uh…" he stuttered, falling for the trick. "Naru?" she asked. "Yeah…?" he asked. "Oyasumi nasai! (Good night)" she knocked him all the way across the ring and into a heap on the floor with a turning back knee. All was silent.

Suddenly, Anko burst out laughing. She had shut off the video camera and was on the floor, rolling around with laughter. "That-that's how you do it, girl!" she gasped, wiping tears from her eyes. Sasuke too looked like he was about to explode from holding in laughter. Naruto had pulled himself in a sitting position and was blushing a deep, angry red. "That's not fair, Hinata!" he pointed a finger at her. "Life ain't fair, Naruto, get used to it." she said, twirling the kunai she had used around hr finger.

After Anko recovered from her laughing fit, she walked back into the ring. "Hinata, since you won the match against Naruto, you get to prove how good you are against me. Ready?" she asked, standing in front of the younger female. "When am I not?" Hinata laughed, getting into her position. 

"Dude, check it out, two chicks fighting!" Naruto said. Sasuke slapped him on the back of the head. "They're our sisters, dumbass." he replied as Naruto rubbed the bump on his head. "Ah…can we get started already?" he yelled, looking up at the girls. "Whatever you say, shrimp." Anko replied, launching herself at Hinata and trying to get a good hold on her. She aimed for a bear-hug, but Hinata gracefully did a back bend and avoided the attack. Anko stumbled forward, and Hinata took the chance to kick her in the chin while coming up from her back bend. Anko tripped backwards.

"You're getting good. Not bad. But let's see you handle this!" Anko launched two shuriken. Hinata prepared a kunai to deflect them, but noticed that thy started circling her. In the faint light of the ring, she saw a glint in the wake of the shurikens. "Crap!" she exclaimed as they went around her, encasing her in the wire. 

"Not good enough, kid." Hinata looked around and say two Anko's. "You said no ninjutsu!" Hinata cried. "I'm the teacher, I can make and break the rules." The Anko's chorused. Hinata bit back a curse and desperately tried to dodge Anko's attack, but to no avail. She was picked up by her collar by one Anko and punched across the room by the other.

She grunted as she skidded across the floor. "You loose." Anko removed the wire and helped her little sister up. "I loose." she repeated, brushing herself off. "Alright, we're done for today." Anko announced. Without hesitation, all three teenagers ran off to their separate rooms. Hinata sat on her bed and took off her hoodie. She then took off her T-shirt and was left in her underclothes. She took out the tub of medicine and began healing the cut wounds she got from the wires.

"Ne, Hinata-chan, I--" Naruto walked in and suddenly stopped talking. Hinata had turned around and was looking at him. "What?" she asked. His face turned red and he looked down. "Can I borrow some of that medicine? Some on my wounds opened up." he muttered. "Yeah, I'm done with it." she closed up the tub of medicine and tossed it to him. He caught it with ease, but still looked embarrassed. Still red, he left without another word. Hinata heard the door slam across the hall. "What's with him?" she wondered aloud.

Later, Hinata went down to the kitchen to get a bottle of water and looked around to see what was for dinner. All she found was ramen and dango. She sighed and shook her head. "Let me guess, all ramen and dango again for dinner?" Sasuke asked, coming into the kitchen. "What do you think? I swear, we're the only ones here that have a normal diet. No wonder Naruto and Anko are so deranged." she said, slamming the fridge shut. "Go get something for dinner, I'm not having another ramen fest." Sasuke said. Hinata laughed. "Last night you puked from the overload of ramen."

"Just go get something that I won't toss up a half-hour later." he said, walking out of the kitchen. Hinata shook her head, still laughing, and walked out of the Tower. "_Good afternoon, Hinata-chan._" Hebi greeted as she walked past him. "Good afternoon, Hebi." she answered, a pleasant smile on her face. "_Ssso, where are you headed?_" the snake asked. "I'm going to the marketplace, all they have in there in dango and ramen again, and I don't think Sasuke wants to puke it back up like last night." she responded. "_Would you mind ssso much asss to…?_" the snake began. "Yeah, I'll get you a little tidbit on the way back." she promised. "_You are too kind, Hinata-chan._"

Hinata chuckled as she continued out of the forest and into the main town. She heard mutters all around her, but she ignored most of them until two familiar voices caught her ear. 

"Look, that's Sasuke and Naruto's sister!"

"Do you think she can tell us more about them? It'll be easier to get them if we know more about their private lives." It was Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura, the two biggest fan girls in the Academy. Hinata remembered them quite clearly from their multiple attempts to rape her brothers. She turned to them. "You know, I can hear you. And, a little piece of advice; there's a reason it's called a private life. It means butt out." she said, spiking out her anger towards them. "Well, if we're going to be their future wives, it's our job to know everything about them." Sakura said, putting her hands on her hips. Hinata laughed. "Future wives? The chances of that happening are about 1% each!" 

Ino folded her arms across her chest. "I'll have you know that Naruto-kun gave me a compliment when we were in the Academy together. He said a was really smart, even though Iruka-sensei told me got the answer wrong!" 

"Yamanaka, there's this thing called sarcasm, you might want to look it up."

Ino flushed red and flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder. "Come on, Sakura, we have stuff to do." she said, turning away from the disowned Hyuga. "Yeah, Yamanaka, it takes a real kunoichi to know when she's been outdone." Hinata called. Both girls scoffed and walked away. Hinata rolled her eyes and continued on.

She passed the training grounds on her way to the market. She stretched and tilted her head back to look at the glaring sun. It never seemed like winter in Konoha to her, always sunny, always warm enough to get away with just wearing a hoodie. She wished it would snow, or at least get cold once in a while.

A sharp whizzing caught her ear and she turned around, catching a kunai in between her index and middle fingers mere inches away from her face. "Gomen nasai! It went off target!" a girl with brown hair tied into twin buns and brown eyes said, appearing in front of her. Hinata handed her the kunai. "No problem, happens to me all the time." she said, smiling. 

"Tenten, did you get it?" someone asked, appearing beside the girl. He had long brown hair tied at the very end with a rubber band. His Konoha headband was tied around his forehead, and he had eyes almost exactly like Hinata's, only colder, more mean. He looked at her and glared. Hinata kept her face pleasant. "Excuse me, but I must go, Hyuga-san." she said sharply, looking at Neji with eyes that held a multitude of emotions. Like empathy that made him angry as she walked away.

"Neji, she had eyes like your's. Are you related?" Tenten asked, turning to her teammate. Neji glared after Hinata. "Not anymore."

**A/N" Finally! I apologize again, I'm been procrastinating, and writers block is not my friend! I'll try and update more frequently, I promise! And Neji is now in the story! Woohoo! But he's an ass in the beginning. Don't worry, he get's better!**


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